Most FBA inbound problems aren't exotic — they're the same handful of packaging misses repeated at scale: a poly bag without its suffocation warning, a multi-piece product that can escape its bag, glass with no cushioning, a set that isn't marked as a set. Each one triggers re-prep fees at best and stranded or refused inventory at worst. The cure is upstream: packaging that arrives at the FC already compliant.
The packaging checklist
Run every SKU through these before it ships to a fulfillment center:
- Poly bags with a 5-inch-plus opening carry a printed suffocation warning, sized to the bag.
- Bags are transparent enough to scan or carry the barcode on the outside; the bag is fully sealed.
- Fragile items are cushioned so they survive a drop test inside their prep — bubble bags or bubble mailers, fully protected on all sides.
- Sold-as-set units are bagged or banded together and marked so they can't be separated ('Sold as set — do not separate').
- Loose or granular products are double-bagged or sealed so nothing can escape.
- Expiration-dated goods show the date on the outer prep in the required format.
- The unit survives handling without the original shipper box — assume the FC handles the unit, not your master carton.
Print compliance into the packaging
Every item on that list gets cheaper when it's built into the packaging instead of added at a prep table: warnings printed on the bag at manufacture, bag dimensions matched to the product so seals hold, bubble mailers sized so cushioning is inherent, set-marking printed rather than stickered. We manufacture FBA-ready bags and mailers in Tijuana with days-not-weeks replenishment — and for very high-volume printed poly programs, our sister plant Synergy Packaging runs dedicated lines. When the marketplace updates a rule, a nearshore supplier can turn the revised print in a production cycle, not a container cycle.
Quick answers
What triggers most FBA prep problems?
Missing or undersized suffocation warnings on poly bags, unprotected fragile items, unmarked sold-as-set units, and bags that can spill contents — all preventable at the packaging stage.
Can I prep at the fulfillment center instead?
Amazon offers paid prep services for some categories, but per-unit prep fees at scale usually cost far more than compliant packaging from the factory.
Do these rules apply beyond Amazon?
Walmart Fulfillment Services and most large retailers enforce closely parallel packaging standards — compliant-by-manufacture packaging protects every channel at once.
